During the 1980s, horror was rising, with Friday the 13th started the decade with a bang, with sequels, parodies, and ripoffs in its path. Halloween would have a sequel and many more, and Freddy Krueger started a long running franchise by Wes Craven. What the critics really loved was the remakes of horror movies lured to younger audiences who never saw the originals. John Carpenter's The Thing, while it underperformed at the box office, became a favorite on home video and a cult classic. In 1986, director David Cronenberg, who made heads explode in Scanners and made video horror with Videodrome and changed political horror in the film version of The Dead Zone, would take great risks remaking a 1950s b movie classic, The Fly, by casting Jeff Goldblum as the main character and Geena Davis as his love. Coming out the same year as Aliens and produced by Mel Brooks, The Fly became Cron's highest grossing movie ever and spawned a sequel which didn't do well but became a cult classic in its own right and there are talks of another remake, this time with CGI and a bigger budget. Catch it while its on tv and you'll like the practical effects of the movie as well as the memorable music by Howard Shore. Be afraid, be very afraid...

Awkward, yet brilliant and obsessive scientist Seth Brundle (superbly played by Jeff Goldblum) creates a teleportation machine that can transport objects from one pod to another. Things go terribly awry after Seth accidentally merges himself with a housefly. Moreover, his scared, but concerned journalist girlfriend Veronica Quaife (a fine and affecting performance by Geena Davis) decides to stay by Seth's side no matter what happens.

David Cronenberg brings a commendable amount of depth, gravity, and maturity to the gripping story, with the doomed romance between the two main characters giving this picture a poignancy and resonance that makes it substantially more than just another creature feature or mindless splatterfest (although it has to be noted that this movie most definitely doesn't shy away from depicting the extreme mental and physical transformation of Brundle into a hideous mutant in an often shocking and unflinching explicit manner). Better still, the central premise serves as a potent metaphor for everything from cancer to drug addiction to how the ravages of time and age take a harsh toll on us all as we get older. Cronenberg and Charles Edward Pogue's take-no-prisoners uncompromising script deserves praise for having the strength of its bleak convictions -- there's no hokey happy ending to be found here -- and further adds inspired touches of black humor to stop this film from becoming too intolerable in its grimness. In addition, it's a nice touch to have Veronica's obnoxious and unlikable boss and ex-boyfriend Stathis Borans (a deliciously odious portrayal by John Getz) come through as a sort of hero at the shattering climax. Joy Boushel contributes a memorably sexy turn as slutty barroom pickup Tawny while Cronenberg has a neat cameo as a gynecologist in a startling nightmare sequence. The Oscar-winning special f/x by Chris Walas are quite convincing and revolting. Kudos are also in order for Mark Irwin's polished cinematography and Howard Shore's outstanding operatic score. Essential viewing for Cronenberg fans and 80's horror aficionados alike.

The original movie, The Fly, was a lovely little horror film. Was it great? No, but it was effective and fun to watch. Did it need to be remade? Possibly, but only if the integrity of the original story remained and it was given better special effects. BUT, NOT LIKE THIS!! Gone is the silly fun of the original. In its place is a viscerally disturbing (nauseating actually) mess with a rather mean spirit. It's simply unfun and unappealing.

You don't believe me? Well, look at the sick makeup job on Jeff Goldbloom. Accident victims are easier to look at for extended periods. And, the ultimate gross-out of having him vomit up white slime on people in order to digest them!!! What were they thinking? If they want to gross us out so much, why not go on a tour of the morgue and film that!? It would be as gross and as pointless.